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That time I laughed off the idea of prehistoric dental work... then saw the evidence myself
So I used to think all that stuff about ancient people doing dental procedures was just hype, right? Like no way they were drilling holes in teeth 9000 years ago. Then I went to a dig in Pakistan last year and saw a molar from like 7000 BCE with a perfect little hole drilled into it. They even found flint drill bits nearby. Now I'm not so sure. But my buddy says it could just be post-mortem damage or something. What do you all think - are these really fillings or just accidental wear? Anyone else flip on this?
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danieltaylor27d ago
Oh man, see I actually lean the other way on this. Just feels like people want it to be true so bad they jump on any little mark in a tooth. Got a buddy who's an archaeologist and he says most of those "drill holes" are just from natural wear or maybe some kind of bug damage after death. Maybe it's just me but I'd need way more proof before calling it a filling.
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nathan85126d ago
Yeah but see that's the thing, @danieltaylor, I actually read a pretty solid piece on this a while back by a dentist who studies ancient teeth. He pointed out that a lot of these marks have this really clean, almost circular shape that just doesn't match what bugs or natural erosion do. Bugs tend to leave more jagged, irregular lines, not a perfect little hole like a drill bit would make. Plus they found traces of something like resin or plant fibers inside some of these holes, which is weird for just damage after death. I'm not saying it's 100% proven either, but the evidence feels a lot stronger than just "people want to believe it.
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